--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only a fool is not afraid." description: "\"Only a fool is not afraid.\" — Madeleine L'Engle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e45/madeleine-l-engle-345_afraid_only-a-fool-is-not-afraid-1681265_1681265.png" --- # Only a fool is not afraid. ![“Only a fool is not afraid.” quote by Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e45/madeleine-l-engle-345_afraid_only-a-fool-is-not-afraid-1681265_1681265.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e45/madeleine-l-engle-345_afraid_only-a-fool-is-not-afraid-1681265_1681265.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e45/madeleine-l-engle-345_afraid_only-a-fool-is-not-afraid-1681265_1681265.png) > “Only a fool is not afraid.” [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fearlessness is a hallmark of wisdom; only the foolish deny fear. **In simple terms:** The wise acknowledge fear; the fool denies it. Key Takeaway Embrace fear as a guide, not a foe. Themes courage wisdom self-awareness Mood thoughtful motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - risk taking - decision making - leadership Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What fears are you ignoring? - How does acknowledging fear improve choices? A Different Perspective Denial of fear can lead to reckless behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Fool Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool-afraid-959486/) [Not afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/not-afraid/) ## Related quotes > [“You fool – you are afraid of being alone with you own mind. You just better learn to know yourself, to make sure decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/you-fool-you-are-afraid-of-being-alone-with-you-own-mind-you-just/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I really wish I was less of a thinking man and more of a fool not afraid of rejection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/i-really-wish-i-was-less-of-a-thinking-man-and-more-of-a-fool-not/) [Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/) > [“You are always afraid that somebody may think you a fool. You are afraid that if others think you to be a fool, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/you-are-always-afraid-that-somebody-may-think-you-a-fool-you-are/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [You see I'm such a fool that I'm never afraid of appearing foolish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/you-see-i-m-such-a-fool-that-i-m-never-afraid-of-appearing-foolish/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [You're not afraid I'll kill you tonight?" "Like I couldn't take you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/you-re-not-afraid-i-ll-kill-you-tonight-like-i-couldn-t-take-you/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Dont worry, Roza, I'm not afraid. I'll take whatever heat they give me over being with you. It's worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/dont-worry-roza-i-m-not-afraid-i-ll-take-whatever-heat-they-give-me/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [You can't win 'til you're not afraid to lose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-win-til-you-re-not-afraid-to-lose/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What can we give a child when there is nothing left? All we have, I think, is the truth, the truth that will set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/what-can-we-give-a-child-when-there-is-nothing-left-all-we-have-i/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [I'm not afraid of having an agenda. I do have an agenda. It's a positive agenda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/i-m-not-afraid-of-having-an-agenda-i-do-have-an-agenda-it-s-a/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I'm not afraid of losing you anymore, because I've realised that I never had you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-leah/i-m-not-afraid-of-losing-you-anymore-because-i-ve-realised-that-i/) [Jamie-Leah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-leah/) > [I'm not afraid of anything other than spiritual annihilation. Where your soul is sucked into the void.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispian-mills/i-m-not-afraid-of-anything-other-than-spiritual-annihilation-where/) [Crispian Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispian-mills/) > [For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/for-here-we-are-not-afraid-to-follow-truth-wherever-it-may-lead/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Fear is a habit; I am not afraid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aung-san-suu-kyi/fear-is-a-habit-i-am-not-afraid/) [Aung San Suu Kyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aung-san-suu-kyi/) > [I am not afraid of the truth, if any one could tell it me, but I am afraid of parts of it impertinently uttered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/i-am-not-afraid-of-the-truth-if-any-one-could-tell-it-me-but-i-am/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) ## More by Madeleine L'Engle > [“One of the hardest lessons I have to learn is how not to be judgmental about people who are judgmental. When I see how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/one-of-the-hardest-lessons-i-have-to-learn-is-how-not-to-be/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Inspiration more often comes during the work than before it, because the largest part of the job of an artist is to listen to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/inspiration-more-often-comes-during-the-work-than-before-it-because/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/you-have-to-write-the-book-that-wants-to-be-written-and-if-the-book/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Severe illness isolates those in close contact with it, because it inevitably narrows the focus of concern. To a certain extent this can lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/severe-illness-isolates-those-in-close-contact-with-it-because-it/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Goodness has never been a guarantee of safety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/goodness-has-never-been-a-guarantee-of-safety/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“Faith is what makes life bearable, with all its tragedies and ambiguities and sudden, startling joys.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/faith-is-what-makes-life-bearable-with-all-its-tragedies-and/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“Instead of rejoicing in this glorious “impossible” which gives meaning and dignity to our lives, we try to domesticate God, to make his mighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/instead-of-rejoicing-in-this-glorious-impossible-which-gives-meaning/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [I have never lived before...Until this summer, I did not know what it was to be alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/i-have-never-lived-before-until-this-summer-i-did-not-know-what-it/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [On the other side of pain, there is still love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/on-the-other-side-of-pain-there-is-still-love/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“To love is to be vulnerable; and it is only in vulnerability and risk—not safety and security—that we overcome darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/to-love-is-to-be-vulnerable-and-it-is-only-in-vulnerability-and-risk/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“IT was the most horrible, the most repellent thing she had ever seen, far more nauseating then anything she had ever imagined with her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/it-was-the-most-horrible-the-most-repellent-thing-she-had-ever-seen/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [I feel as though I'm not breathing when I'm out of his presence. He's the oxygen in my air, the sun in my universe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/i-feel-as-though-i-m-not-breathing-when-i-m-out-of-his-presence-he-s/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Rather than feeling lost and unimportant and meaningless, set against galaxies which go beyond the reach of the furthest telescopes, I feel that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/rather-than-feeling-lost-and-unimportant-and-meaningless-set-against/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [My husband is my most ruthless critic... sometimes he will say, 'It's been said better before.' Of course it has. It's all been said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/my-husband-is-my-most-ruthless-critic-sometimes-he-will-say-it-s-been/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [If we aren't capable of being hurt we aren't capable of feeling joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/if-we-aren-t-capable-of-being-hurt-we-aren-t-capable-of-feeling-joy/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) [Explore all 660 Madeleine L'Engle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) ## More Afraid quotes > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [I used to be afraid of my temper, but it turns out I don't really have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-bell/i-used-to-be-afraid-of-my-temper-but-it-turns-out-i-don-t-really-have/) [Zoe Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-bell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm a pretty fearless person. I'm afraid of, like, creepy men in white vans and sidewalks with no streetlights. But I'm not afraid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-totah/i-m-a-pretty-fearless-person-i-m-afraid-of-like-creepy-men-in-white/) [Josie Totah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-totah/) > [I will support my party when they are right on an issue, but am not afraid to stand up to party bosses who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-senger/i-will-support-my-party-when-they-are-right-on-an-issue-but-am-not/) [Darlene Senger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darlene-senger/) > [Why am I so afraid to loose you,when you're not even mine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-am-i-so-afraid-to-loose-you-when-you-re-not-even-mine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to tell you, but I cant, becuase I'm afraid if I do you'll never treat me same the again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-orante/i-want-to-tell-you-but-i-cant-becuase-i-m-afraid-if-i-do-you-ll-never/) [Cristina Orante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-orante/) > [Mistakes I've made in the past make me afraid to try new things in the future. I want to be perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/mistakes-i-ve-made-in-the-past-make-me-afraid-to-try-new-things-in/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [“Humans are naturally scared and confused beings. They not only fear the unknown, as they live fearing themselves... ☥”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-marques/humans-are-naturally-scared-and-confused-beings-they-not-only-fear/) [Luis Marques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-marques/) > [If you are too afraid of failure, you cant possibly do what needs to be done to succeed in living a fulfilling life. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/if-you-are-too-afraid-of-failure-you-cant-possibly-do-what-needs-to/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [We cannot be afraid of the dark that they live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burnie-burns/we-cannot-be-afraid-of-the-dark-that-they-live-in/) [Burnie Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burnie-burns/) > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [I'm still with that feeling that I am afraid of doing the wrong thing, because somebody is going to punish me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/i-m-still-with-that-feeling-that-i-am-afraid-of-doing-the-wrong-thing/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) [Browse all 5,519 Afraid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Only a fool is not afraid.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Madeleine L'Engle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/only-a-fool-is-not-afraid/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afraid" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/only-a-fool-is-not-afraid/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e45/madeleine-l-engle-345_afraid_only-a-fool-is-not-afraid-1681265_1681265.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e45/madeleine-l-engle-345_afraid_only-a-fool-is-not-afraid-1681265_1681265.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e45/madeleine-l-engle-345_afraid_only-a-fool-is-not-afraid-1681265_1681265.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only a fool is not afraid.” — Madeleine L'Engle", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Madeleine L'Engle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Only a fool is not afraid.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/only-a-fool-is-not-afraid/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/only-a-fool-is-not-afraid/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```